The invention relates to a system for repeatedly reproducing a recorded material of a limited duration, and more particularly to such a system adapted for use as a learning instrument.
A tape recorder is frequently utilized as a learning instrument, with a magnetic tape containing a varying degree of teaching material which may be arranged in a predetermined program. The recorded tape has a playback time which usually exceeds 20 minutes. Where such a recorded tape is used for linguistic purposes to teach a foreign language to beginners, it is often desirable to repeat a brief sentence in a consistent tone. This is usually achieved by repeatedly reproducing a selected portion of a recorded tape, which requires a repeated rewinding of the tape as many times as the reproduction is desired. However, it is troublesome to operate the tape recorder each time the beginner desires to listen to a given sentence repeatedly. The degree of inconvenience will be appreciated if one considers the fact that sentences used for beginners are usually of a short duration such as a sentence "SPRING HAS COME", which will be terminated in a matter of a second if spoken at a usual rate of conversation. Also, the required frequency of operation of the tape recorder will cause undesirable wear thereof.
To avoid these difficulties, a tape may be repeatedly recorded with a succession of the same brief sentence so that the sentence may be repeated without requiring a rewinding of the tape. However, the procedure contains several inconveniences which render it impractical. Specifically, the number of times the reproduction is repeated is determined independently from the intention of the beginner which varies from individual to individual, and the beginner is forced to follow the sequence of teaching materials which are contained in a single tape of substantial length. Thus, it is difficult to freely choose a particular sentence which a particular beginner desires to hear repeatedly. Where a number of brief sentences are recorded in a single tape, if the beginner desires to find a particular sentence, he has to locate it by running the tape. It will be readily appreciated that such an operation of the tape recorder requires a considerable amount of labor and time. In addition, the recording of a brief sentence on a single tape at a number of successive tape portions means a waste of the tape material, and the number of recorded tapes which must be prepared also increases.
Another approach for a repeated playback of a short sentence is the use of an endless tape which has a reduced circulation time. However, the loading and unloading of the endless tape onto or from the playback unit is troublesome, and there must be some tape stowage means for containing a number of endless tapes which is convenient in handling the tapes.